If Wishes Were Horses
by Gevaudan
Summary: A strange discovery in the woods around Cardiff leads the team to wondering... what if?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: __As ever, Torchwood and the characters therein do not belong to me. All I own is the plotline and any incidental people who appear in this. I am making no money from this (or indeed much else at the moment.)_

_Set:__ In mid season two, after Meat but before Reset. It'll make sense as you go through it I think._

_Author's Note:__ This is the first time since I left school (in 2004) that I have embarked on a proper, all-out, multichapter fic. It is promising to be a bit of a beast at the moment and although it is largely drafted out there is still plenty of room for tweaking, shaping and incorporating requests. I have about 5 chapters in hand at the moment so updates should be regular. I wanted this to have the feel of a full Torchwood adventure with some "behind the scenes" fluff and team bonding. I really, really hope you like it._

_Here goes nothing..._

Prologue

It was a cold, wet, night in Cardiff, which was hardly a surprise in a city that boasted an average annual rainfall of over one thousand millilitres. The temperature had tumbled to below zero as soon as the weak autumn sun had sunk below the horizon and now the bitter off shore wind blew fallen brown leaves around haphazardly like damp dishcloths. All in all, it was a thoroughly unpleasant night to be out for anyone, not least PC Andy Davidson of the Cardiff Police Force.

Miserably, he curled cold fingers around a lukewarm Styrofoam cup of what appeared to be hot water that had once had a passing introduction to a teabag, and stared mournfully at the rain. He wasn't even supposed to be here tonight, but the Blues were playing at home against the Newport Gwent Dragons, and despite the weather the City of Cardiff Stadium had been full of drunken Welshman from both towns, and in the interests of public safety they'd been asked to provide some extra cover. So far there had been arrests for affray, disturbing the peace, and drunk and disorderly behaviour, but these had been isolated incidents and on the whole the match had passed relatively calmly. Not that PC Davidson had seen any of this, no, instead he had spent a wet, miserable, muddy night in Leckwith Woods above Penarth, freezing cold and soaked to the skin. He sometimes wondered why he hadn't done as his mam had suggested all those years ago and gone to work in the Bank of Wales with Mrs Evans' son (ever such a nice boy, you could do worse than be like him). The Bank of Wales didn't exist anymore, but the point remained that there were probably easier, definitely drier, jobs in Cardiff.

He wondered what on earth anyone had been doing out on a night like this to see the flames illuminating the usually dark woods; walking their dog most likely, she had seemed that sort, a mid-fifties housewife doing her duty as a concerned citizen. Usually fires were the provision of the fire brigade, but those in public areas needed their presence to keep the inquisitive gossip mongers and have-a-go heroes to a minimum, not that there were any tonight, too busy sheltering from the weather or drowning their sorrows in the wake of watching Cardiff snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

He was glad of the lack of public interest tonight, he had the feeling there was something a bit, well, spooky about tonight's fire, he thought back to his appearance on the scene, the discovery that had left him standing here in the pissing rain for the best part of an hour.

On his arrival the firemen had been terse, their faces creased with confusion. That had immediately tipped Andy off, he knew the lads on Blue Watch, had been them at a variety of RTAs (road traffic accidents), CIRs (child stuck in railings) and WOTs (waste of times) to recognise most of them on sight, if not by name, and they were usually a good humoured, chirpy bunch.

"What's occurring?" he had asked, cursing inwardly for using a line from that new comedy set in Barry, if he wasn't careful he'd be turning into a racial stereotype.

"Dunno," Ioan, the watch leader answered gruffly, "Fire's up there, but we're having to crack out the Hazmat gear. Bloody weird it is, must be some kind of chemical, God knows how they've got into Leckwith Woods though, it's not like it's the industrial heart of Cardiff is it?"

"What do you mean?" Andy had queried, confused.

"The fire's bloody purple!" the fireman had shouted in exasperation, "same colour as Ribena for chrissakes!" he had sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead, his face showing the strain of an odd night, "that's not the worst of it though..."

"Oh?"

"Its burning cold. The flames... they aren't hot at all," the fireman had looked haunted by that fact, "I can think of chemicals that would maybe make it purple, but nothing that can burn with cold flames like that... its bloody unnatural is what it is."

It had been Andy's turn to sigh then, realisation settling in his stomach like a lead weight. He had turned to the fireman, his voice heavy with realisation.

"You know what this means don't you? We're going to have to call the Scooby Gang," he'd grumbled, using the nickname used throughout the emergency services for Gwen Cooper, her mate Mulder and the rest of the team that seemed to spend their lives swooping around in their long coats and sunglasses, disrupting crime scenes without so much of a backward glance.

Ioan had matched his heavy sigh with one of his own.

"You don't mean?"

"'Fraid so," Andy had confirmed as he fished out his phone trying his best to shield it from the torrential downpour, "Time to call bloody Torchwood."

_Ok. That's the prologue out of the way! _

_Now a little game: I will post a fragment from the next chapter for you, you have to guess who is saying it/who/what it is about. _

_Those who guess correctly by review can leave a prompt at the end of the next chapter, and I will try and incorporate it into this fic or a related one-shot._

_Sound like fun? Well, not hugely probably but still...An easy one to begin with. _

_Who says this and to whom are they speaking:_

"_**I'm hurt, it's like you think I only call to..."**_

_Answers on a postcard!_


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Winner: __ At the moment, the only winner for the guessing game is RhianaStar, who correctly identified Jack! Well done, if you'd like to leave a prompt feel free._

_Author's Note:__ As we'd had no Team Torchwood, I thought I would upload the next chapter today. Also I have completed another chapter today (Chapter 5 = fluff-fest) so all is progressing well! I should point out there may be a delay in a couple of weeks as I'm getting married but I'm going to try and update regularly until then and I will try and upload a couple of long chapters just before I go away to keep you busy!_

Chapter 1

Gwen Cooper hated that ring tone. It wasn't ridiculous, or humorous, it certainly wasn't the Crazy Frog, though it had been one week, she remembered, when Owen was bored and reset all the phones in the hub much to Ianto's annoyance, but now it was just your ordinary bog standard ring tone.

But she still hated it.

Hated it because that ring tone represented work pulling her away from her real life, her proper everday life, here in the pub with Rhys after the match, laughing at the antics of Dav and Banana Boat as they moaned about the Cardiff defeat. Its insistent trill dragged her back into the dark side of her life in Cardiff: the hidden side, the side that lurked in sewers and below the Millenium Centre, the side that only surfaced in secret, the side of her life that belonged to Torchwood.

With a regretful sigh, she attracted Rhys' attention, signalling with a series of hand gestures that she was going outside to take a call. He had been a lot more understanding since that incident with the whale in the warehouse, but she couldn't miss the frustrated eye roll that he aimed at the device in her hand. He probably thought he'd been on a promise tonight, Gwen realised, as she exited the pub, wincing at the sting of the needle sharp raindrops cascading in torrents. She'd long since figured out that she couldn't promise she'd be home at night, let alone that she and Rhys would finally get to spend a quiet evening _together_ but Rhys still seemed to hope, no matter how much he knew, that one day the forces invading Cardiff would, for once, do so during office hours. That was yet to happen.

Surprisingly, the caller identity displayed on the phone did not belong to the Hub, or any of her current colleagues. Instead flashing up on the screen was the name of Andy Davidson, Gwen's former partner from her time in the Met.

"Andy! What can I do for you?" she greeted, trying hard to sound cheerful and upbeat, to mask the petulant irritation she currently felt. Andy, it seemed, had no such qualms regarding his feelings.

"Gwen?" he snapped, somehow managing to sound cold, even through the phone, "I'm up in Leckwith Woods where its freezing and pissing it down and one of your spooky dos is kicking off."

Gwen, looking dolefully at the weather, could see why Andy sounded irritated, but wished he wasn't taking it out on her. She liked Andy, he was like an occasionally irritating younger brother to her, and truth be told, she did miss their patrols together, especially at the times she was risking life and limb. Not that she would want to go back of course, Torchwood had a way of getting under your skin, and making you want to find out more. Gwen had always been nosy, she had no shame in admitting that was why she had joined the police, and the secrets Torchwood hid were out of this world, often literally. She just wished they weren't so tied up in death and destruction and sometimes thought longingly of the days when the most she had to worry about was the velocity of an airborne kebab.

"What kind of spooky do, Andy?"

"Well we've got a cold fire, still burning mind, just cold, the firemen can't figure it out, I've obviously got no idea, and we thought it would be right up your mate Mulder's street," he paused for a long moment, "did I mention its purple? The fire that is, cold purple flames. Got to be something to do with you lot!"

"Okay," Gwen answered slowly, drawing the word out as she tried to think what to do next, "I have to call Jack, Andy can you..."

He spoke over her, the annoyance still thrumming in his voice.

"Keep the site secure, don't let anyone in, don't let anyone leave, take some pictures in case it's finished by the time you get here. Already on it, just hurry up!" his voice softened, ever so slightly, "And Gwen? Bring us one of your mate's coffees would you? Its bloody freezing out here."

He hung up, before she could even ask about how he knew of Ianto's skills with a coffee machine, she'd known it was exceptional, but she hadn't realised that his legendary status had gone beyond the walls of the Hub. Smiling to herself she keyed one of the pre-programmed speed dials and waited for her boss to pick up.

"Gwen Cooper," his American accented voice sounded unsurprised by her call despite the late hour, "What can I do for you?"

"Hey Jack, sorry to bother you, only I've had Andy Davidson on the phone, something about Leckwith Woods being on fire with cold purple flames, thought we might be interested?"

"Funny, I was just about to head out to investigate a Rift spike there," Gwen nodded at the confirmation of a suspicion which had been niggling at the back of her mind, "listen I know you have the night off but can you..." his sentence trailed off, making him sound just slightly desperate, "From what you've said, I think we'll need all of us to contain and investigate this one."

Gwen exaggerated a sigh, not above making Jack feel at least a little bit guilty about calling her in.

"I'll be about fifteen minutes, just got to tell Rhys I'm ditching him for Torchwood. Again."

If she expected any reaction from Jack she was sorely disappointed, he had already hung up. With a resigned shake of her head Gwen ducked back into the warmth of the King's Head to break the news of her departure to her long suffering husband.

Rhys knew what she was going to say before she had crossed the pub. She had ducked back through the door, hair damp with that apologetic look that only appeared when she had to desert him to go and save the world from Torchwood. He bit his lip down on his immediate sharp comment and schooled his features into a grin; after all who was he to complain? He drove wagons for a living, she saved the world. He wished he could put into action the plans he had for himself and Gwen after finishing their drinks but he tried to ignore his desire for his beautiful Welsh fiancée and be the supportive partner he knew she needed.

"I'm sorry love," she muttered, as she reached his side. Dav and Banana were oblivious to her imminent departure, busy as they were playing darts, and shouting loudly to each other.

"End of the world?" asked Rhys in a low voice, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Not yet I hope," she smiled, "just had a call from Andy, but Jack thinks we should check it out. I am sorry though love, I was having a lovely evening, even if we lost."

Rhys squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"Go on, get going. I'll see you tomorrow. Ask Ianto what he thought of their knock-on in the second half... Still don't know how they got away with that one! That bloody ref has got it in for us!"

Gratefully she nodded and kissed him quickly to forestall his rant, ignoring the whoops and calls of 'get a room!' from Dav and Banana, before dashing back into the rain and hailing a taxi to take her to Roald Dahl Plass.

The shrill howl of the phone cut through the silence of Toshiko Sato's flat. With a tiny sigh she set down her Charles Dickens novel and her mug of green tea, noting the caller ID as she answered. Torchwood of course.

Sometimes Tosh wished that another name was displayed on the phone. If she was being truly honest with herself she would admit that it was Owen's name that she wanted to see, but really she just wanted something for herself outside of work, with someone that wasn't an alien or from years in the past. Occasionally Ianto would call for a chat, but since Jack's return he had less and less time to spend with her. She didn't begrudge his happiness, far from it, but she did long for something similar for herself. Dismissing her melancholy thoughts she pressed the call answer button.

"Hello Jack," she greeted her boss, with a tiny smile. She had always been taught by her mother that people could tell when you were smiling on the phone, and tried to remember to put it into practice.

"Evening Tosh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he couldn't miss her sad sigh, and mentally made a note to encourage Ianto to spend some time with her soon. He was aware of the friendship that had been forged between the two quieter members of his team after the events of Brynblaidd and felt momentarily guilty that he had monopolised the Welshman's time.

"No," she said chirpily, hoping to hide her sorrows, "what can I do for you?"

Jack explained the situation concisely, and five minutes later Tosh left her flat wearing a bright pink waterproof that she had never had cause to wear before, and a pair of black wellington boots.

"Fucking hell," Owen swore cheerfully at the phone from inside the shower, already fairly sure of who would be at the other end. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around himself he crossed the bathroom to silence the penetrating call alert. He had finished work late tonight, after Jack's incessant nagging to complete the autopsy on the weevil they had found on the dual carriageway yesterday, and after his shower he planned on heading out to his local club and finding someone to keep him company for the night.

"What's 'appened?" he asked sharply, without any preamble or even greeting, wishing that he had turned his phone onto silent so that he could follow through on his previous plans. Then he thought of the ear-bashing that Jack had given him the last time he had done that and winced inwardly at the recollection.

"Owen I'm hurt, it's like you think I only call to..." Jack's teasing tone was cut up abruptly.

"Stow it Harkness," Owen growled, "I assume you are at the Hub, I'll be there in ten." He prepared to hang up and then the sound of rain hammering against the picture windows put a horrible idea into his head. "Oh and Harkness,"

"Yes Owen, " Jack answered with a long suffering sigh.

"If you make me go outside, in this weather I will shoot you." The medic threatened, "Again."

He hung up grumbling complaints about his job, the weather and his life in general.

Ianto knew, somewhere deep inside, that the minute he lifted the glass of whiskey to his lips, the phone would ring. Setting it down without even allowing a sip to pass his lips he answered the phone, wishing, just for once that he could enjoy a quiet hour to himself. Jack was meant to be coming over later, and much as he enjoyed spending time with him, he also enjoyed some time away from everything that reminded him of Torchwood, just himself, a CD and a glass of whiskey.

"Hello Jack," he answered, unable to stop a smile creeping across his face, despite his momentary irritation.

"Hey Yan," Jack answered cheerily, ignoring Ianto's growl of frustration at the abbreviation of his name, "I was missing you, wondered if you'd come keep me company, maybe accompany me on a moonlit walk?"

Ianto snorted as looked out of his window at the huge puddles forming outside in the enormous potholes that disrupted the tarmac of his road.

"The Rift?" Ianto guessed, trying to remember where he had hidden his walking boots after the disastrous trip to the Beacons.

"Afraid so," Jack confirmed, summarising for the archivist the information Gwen had given him over the phone.

"One of these days you know you are going to have to deliver on one of these promises? " Ianto commented, "dinner, cinema, moonlit walks, entire nights in bed with nothing to get up for the next day..."

Jack laughed then, not his innuendo filled chuckle he used with the team but a deep, happy laugh that somehow Ianto was able to draw out of him.

"Hey I delivered on the hot sex!" he pointed out, "Several times as I recall."

There was a pause as both men recalled their most recent encounter in the Hub; suddenly aware neither of them had said anything for a while, Ianto shook his head to clear it of the unbidden images the memories had brought to the forefront of his mind.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

_Hope you enjoyed a little insight into the Team's nights off – interrupted though it was!_

_Here's the next guessing game for you, who says this and who are they talking to:_

"_**you don't half take up a lot of space."**_

_Answers on a postcard!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Winner: __ The winner for this chapter is Goodythreeshoes, who correctly identified Gwen as delivering the line. Leave a prompt if you like._

_Author's Note:__ Well, here is the next Chapter, set in the Hub which features Owen swearing and a rugby obsessed Ianto. Awww. Thank you so much for all the reviews, alerts, favouritings etc. It does help as there is 10,000 words of this on my computer now! I'm uploading this in the hope I finish another chapter, then I'm off to knit a Tardis scarf. I am so rock and roll._

Chapter Two

True to their word, Jack's team appeared through the Hub's main door ten minutes after his call. Gwen of course, was through the door first, shaking droplets of water from her umbrella and greeting Jack with a bright, gap-toothed smile. Next came Ianto and Tosh, both uncharacteristically out of their usual smart office wear and instead decked out in waterproofs and boots, and grumbling cheerfully about the weather.

"See the match?" Gwen asked Ianto as he headed up the metal stairway to start preparing the coffees he was sure they would all need.

"Caught the highlights on the local news, can't believe they got away with that knock-on in the second half. The referee must have been sponsored by Specsavers tonight! I take it Rhys wasn't happy?" his voice was aggrieved, as he continued, "it's that same referee that awarded the Osprey's their winning penalty against us for an offence that didn't happen."

Gwen laughed as Jack and Tosh exchanged confused looks. Neither of them had realised the depth of Ianto's love for his country's national game, particularly the Cardiff Blues. Jack realised he would have to ask Ianto to take him to a live game sometime, he wasn't entirely sure of the rules but was sure that thirty men in shorts and an excited Ianto would be more than enough entertainment.

"I think he's still ranting about him as we speak," Gwen continued her conversation with Ianto, oblivious to the amused looks being shared by their teammates, "Ianto pet, do you think you'd be able to make up a flask of coffee for the police and firemen up at the site? I think it will go a long way to cutting down Andy's irritated mumbling."

Ianto nodded in agreement and disappeared into the small kitchenette, before sticking his head out of the door and calling down to his boss.

"Jack, are we likely to be retconning?" he asked, wondering if one flask would be enough.

"Best be prepared," Jack considered, "There could be a perfectly rational explanation for all this but then again, it is Cardiff. Tosh can you get the scanners ready, Gwen when we get there I'd like to speak to the woman who rang the Fire Service," The two women nodded and moved to their desks to collect what they would need, "Where on earth is Owen?"

The door alert sounded then, heralding the arrival of the medic. As he appeared through the cog doorway the others could do nothing but stare at his appearance. Owen had apparently not properly considered the weather as he left his flat, and was dressed in his usual leather jacket, jeans and trainers. In consequence he was soaked to the skin, with dark tide marks reaching almost to the knees of his jeans.

"Don't say a word," he greeted them darkly, stalking across the hub and descending to the autopsy bay to collect his bag of field equipment.

"Wet out?" asked Ianto with a sarcastic smirk, as he descended the stairs with a tray of mugs, which he deposited with each of the team. Tosh wondered if he'd genuinely missed Owen's warning or if he just enjoyed baiting the medic. She suspected the latter.

"Only the fact that you have coffee is stopping me punching you right now Teaboy." Owen commented, without even looking up, blindly reaching out with one hand to take his mug, wrapping his hands around it to savour the warmth. "I only came from the bloody car park."

Ianto backed away quickly, setting his tray down as he moved towards the door of the archives.

"I'll find you a waterproof and some boots, probably got some spare jeans lying about too," he offered as his disappeared through the doorway, "and I'll bring the SUV round to the lift."

"Cheers mum," Owen muttered gruffly, secretly grateful that Ianto looked after them so well, not that he would ever tell the younger man that.

Ianto slipped efficiently through the corridors that led to the Hub's large storage rooms. In his time as Torchwood's archivist he had spent a great deal of time ensuring that the team were prepared for every eventuality; these rooms and their contents were testament to his thoroughness. Rain, didn't even begin to present a challenge, having hailed from Wales waterproofs were the first supplies he had sought out. Quickly he found the box he required, labelled 'Owen Harper: Rain' pleased that he had taken the time to organise the room into a sensible order. He knew deep down that the team appreciated the work he did, even if they didn't fully realise how much of it there was, but he sometimes wished that they would show it a bit more.

Rummaging through the box, he selected a heavy duty gortex jacket in a deep forest green, a pair of black walking trousers and a pair of already waterproofed walking boots, then, smiling slightly he added a pair of pink, spotty walking socks to the pile. Owen would hate them, there would no doubt be abuse and ranting when he saw, which of course, was precisely the reason that Ianto had bought them.

He also opened Jack's labelled box and extricated a jacket from within. He knew that Jack was likely to ignore it and traipse around wearing his trademark military greatcoat, but Ianto didn't think he appreciated just how difficult it was to get it dry quickly without shrinking it. Come to think of it, Jack really didn't understand just how much extra work that bloody coat caused him. On long days he found it hard to believe that he had once claimed to love it. Then again, it did make Jack look terribly dashing. Satisfied with his finds he gathered them up into his arms and walked back into the main body of the Hub, making his way to Jack's office first, thinking that after Owen saw the socks he would probably need to make a quick escape.

He wasn't wrong, he reflected a few minutes later as he sprinted through the armoury away from Owen's frustrated shouting, reaching out with quick reflexes as he did so to grab his preferred pistol as he passed. He had made enough distance on the medic that he could no longer hear everything he was saying but the swear words rang through the large open body of the Hub with surprising clarity.

"Ianto...twat...kill...fucking _pink _socks..." the angry voice faded into silence, as Ianto finally reached the door that led into the car park.

He paused for a moment as he entered the cavernous space that ran alongside the main part of the Hub, to catch his breath and enjoy an all too brief moment of solitude. The enormous black SUV, the least inconspicuous secret vehicle in Cardiff, looked strangely dwarfed by the vast space it occupied. He triggered the central locking as he approached the driver's door smiling as he adjusted the seat to accommodate his height; clearly Owen had been driving last. The others often wondered why Jack insisted on being picked up from the Plass, when it was obviously just as easy for the others to walk into the car park, Ianto however didn't mind. He didn't know the reason for Jack's preference but he did know that this was often the only opportunity he got to drive the sleek black Range Rover, idly, in his more soppy moments he sometimes if that was Jack's reasoning. No, that couldn't be it, could it?

Shaking his head at the turn his thoughts had taken he turned the key, appreciating the deep thrum of the engine as only a fan of Top Gear could. Deftly he swung the car in a tight circle, gunning the engine to power him up the ramp that brought him out at street level. He couldn't help but smile at the sight that greeted him. The team, swathed in their waterproof jackets, hoods pulled up, huddled together in a tight group, reminding Ianto of wildlife documentaries about penguins. He pulled the car to a tidy stop in front of them, resisting the urge to swerve and clip one of the large puddles with the wheels. Bracing himself for the cold, he opened the door to allow Jack to take the wheel.

"Shotgun!" Owen's triumphant shout was the first thing he heard, and sighing in resignation he slid into the back seat, alongside the girls, rolling his eyes at Tosh, who giggled sympathetically.

"Shotgun, Owen?" he asked with a sardonic smirk, "is that the best you can come up with? Shotgun?"

Owen settled into the passenger seat, adjusting it so he had more legroom, and the seat was reclined to a more comfortable angle so he ended up practically in Gwen's lap, much to her annoyance. Irritated, she kicked out, hoping to encourage him to move.

"Bloody hell, Owen," she muttered, "for a short arse you don't half take up a lot of space."

Owen bristled at the comment but before he could respond Ianto piped up.

"I think he does it so that he looks bigger Gwen," he suggested, with a slightly evil grin, "You know, the same why cats make their fur stick out when they're fighting?"

"Pity it doesn't work everywhere, hey Owen?" Jack added with a salacious wink and a pointed look in the direction of the Medic's crotch.

"It's not like you'd know Harkness," he snarked, "None of you are getting a look to judge, not even if the world was ending."

"That's not what you said to Tosh and I last month," Ianto pointed out.

"And I 've..." Gwen fell silent abruptly, despite the fact the team knew of her affair with Owen, she still felt sufficiently guilty about her behaviour to be unable to make light of it. No one called her on her aborted comment, because although they, especially Tosh, had been unhappy by her betrayal of Rhys, there had been too much water under the bridge since then to keep referring to it and perpetuating her guilt. Gwen was grateful for that; more time working for Torchwood, especially in Jack's absence, had taught her to appreciate the small sacrifices the others all too frequently made so that she could maintain a normal relationship with her fiancé, and she was more thankful than ever for her almost normal home life. Owen had simply been a lapse in judgement in a confused period of her life, a mistake that she did not intend to make again, with anyone.

"What was this Ianto?" Jack's voice broke into her thoughts, "Owen propositioned you and Tosh?"

Tosh laughed again, ignoring the filthy looks that Owen was giving her from the front seat.

"Yes," she confirmed with a twinkle in her dark eyes, "apparently Owen thinks that the best way to deal with a city-wide emergency is to have sex with anyone in the vicinity."

"I was under stress!" Owen defended himself, "It's not like there was a lot of options, don't go thinking you're special or anything!"

"Don't tell me," Ianto replied, "If you'd been in the countryside it would have been some poor sheep?"

There was a bark of laughter from Jack.

"Pity there weren't any in the Hub that day," Owen answered nastily, "would have been preferable."

He tried to ignore the hurt that suddenly filled Tosh's eyes. Shit, he'd crossed the line again. He didn't mean to upset her, truly. But somehow the smart alec half of his brain ran away with him, leaving the common sense half to deal with removing his foot from his mouth. The jovial atmosphere had leached away, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence; defensively Owen stared, unseeing out of the window.

It was Jack that broke the silence.

"We'll be there in five minutes," he was all business now, "Tosh and Owen with me, usual readings and samples, Gwen get statements from the witnesses, Ianto go with her, I think we'll probably need to retcon the firemen and the eyewitnesses, I think we'll probably leave PC Davidson – he does have his uses." The serious business out of the way, Jack tried to lighten the mood, he hated it when they were all at each other's throats, "speaking of the police, Owen get the sunglasses out of the glovebox please."

Ever since Jack had heard muttered comments at a crime scene about 'flash bastards in sunglasses' Jack had found it highly amusing to turn up at every alert with a police presence in a pair, regardless of the time of day and the weather.

Owen fished out the pairs stored in the glove box, and with a chorus of resigned sighs, each of them took a pair. Silence fell once more in the car, punctuated only by the sound of typing as each of the team prepared for their role at the scene.

_Well there we go... what will they find in the woods? No prizes for guessing rain._

_Your challenge this time is to guess what the line of dialogue below is describing:_

"_**It's surprisingly good."**_

_Answers on a postcard._

_Also for fans of anyone in Torchwood being naked – there is a communal shower scene coming up... keep reading!_


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Winner: __ No correct guesses for this one, but it was of course a description of Ianto's coffee, which I imagine is surprisingly good if you've not had it before._

_Author's Note:__ Well now we're out in the woods with sunglasses, coffee and PC Andy. Thank you for the continuing interest in this story – it still continues to grow on my computer and I appreciate all the feedback and reviews, follows and whatnot!_

Chapter Three

Andy Davidson could not believe his eyes.

It was the middle of the night. It was not summer. It was literally _pissing_ it down with rain, and bloody Torchwood came swanning along wearing bloody sunglasses of all things. It wasn't even just that American of theirs either, no now they were all wearing them, even that Welsh bloke, Jones maybe? Who to Andy had always seemed quite sensible. And to be fair he did look quite embarrassed behind the sunglasses, but still, no one was making him wear them...or were they? That Captain Jack did seem like an odd fellow, and Andy had heard whispers down the station among the other coppers who had seen him out with Jones on what looked like a date on more than one occasion. Not that he held any store in gossip of course.

It was Jones that spoke first, removing his sunglasses as he did so with unmistakable relief.

"Good evening PC Davidson," he was always politeness personified, even Gwen wasn't this pleasant to Andy, and he'd worked with her, "Terrible weather isn't it? Would you like a coffee?"

Andy nodded gratefully, deeply inhaling the richly scented steam emanating from the flask which Ianto had apparently produced out of thin air. Ianto smiled slightly at the appreciative noise and handed over the coffee with a little flourish.

"Alright Teaboy, can we get on with some real work now?" Andy bristled on behalf of his fellow Welshman, at the insult from the cocky Londoner. Andy had never taken to him, he seemed a bit too up himself. Ianto didn't seem to mind too much, merely rolled his eyes and allowed the Doctor past him with an elaborate bow.

"You go play with your toys Owen, I'll tidy up. As usual." He commented, flatly.

"Alright PC Davidson, what have you got?" The Captain took control of the situation the moment he opened his mouth, much to Andy's frustration. It wasn't Torchwood that had been stood in the rain for the last two hours. Still the quicker they saw the fire the quicker Andy could get home to bed.

"It's up there," Andy gestured behind him with his coffee cup, trying not to spill any as he did so, "The firemen can't seem to get it to go out, but they're all up there anyhow. The woman who reported it is in my car to keep out of the rain," he gestured again, this time towards his panda car. Inside the team could make out a figure huddled in the back seat, staring out of the window towards them. Andy continued, "other than that no one else has come on site."

Jack nodded and clapped Andy on the shoulder, smiling inwardly as the young policeman was thrown off balance by the gesture.

"Good work constable. Ok, Gwen off you go," Gwen nodded and took a cup of coffee from Ianto before slipping into the back seat of the car next to the woman, "the rest of you, with me. Mr Davidson, if you'd be so good as to wait here."

Torchwood trekked off into the trees, leaving Andy alone once more, drops of rain mournfully falling off the brim of his hat. Sighing, he returned his gaze to the lane, devoid of traffic and only filled by the enormous SUV they seemed to insist on driving all over town. Ah well, he thought to himself, at least they'd remembered to bring him a coffee.

Gwen was grateful that for once she had been assigned a task that let her escape the inclement weather. Smiling brightly she slipped into the back seat of the patrol car and extended a hand to the middle aged woman inside.

"I'm Gwen Cooper," she introduced herself; "I wanted to ask a few questions about what you saw tonight." She purposefully didn't mention the organisation she worked for, although the coffee Ianto had handed her was ready laced with Retcon there was no point in arousing unnecessary curiosity; either about Torchwood or "Special Ops" in general.

"That's fine dear," the woman replied, her voice warm and softly accented, "I'm Marion Evans."

Gwen smiled again.

"Would you like a coffee?" she asked, offering the cup, "I can promise you it isn't that terrible machine stuff."

The woman took the cup appreciatively, and took a cautious sip, "its surprisingly good."

"Can you tell me why you were out here tonight Marion?" Gwen asked, her voice gentle and unthreatening.

"Of course, I was out walking my dog," the woman replied, looking anxiously about, "only when we came up the lane and saw the flames, she ran off. I don't know why – I can only hope she's gone home. Then I rang the fire brigade." The woman's voice trembled at the thought of her missing pet and Gwen reached out to grasp her hand comfortingly.

"Did you see how the fire started?" enquired Gwen, this was really what she needed to know, it might give them some clues as to its origin.

"There was a flash, a pinky golden colour flash." The woman answered definitively, "then the flames started. But I didn't see anyone – it was really quiet, I hadn't even passed any cars on my way up."

The woman looked anxious, but trustworthy, and while Gwen knew all too well that evil could disguise itself to look supremely innocent, she was really quite sure that this woman had just been in the wrong place and the wrong time and witness what sounded suspiciously like Rift activity.

"Thank you," Gwen reached for the handle of the door, "You've been very helpful. Enjoy your coffee."

Before she managed to drink any more of her coffee, the woman was fast asleep, her tightly permed hair crushed against the glass of the window, the polystyrene cup hanging loosely from her fingers.

Owen sighed glumly at the sight of eight fireman stood idly around in Hazmat suits observing the fire in front of them.

"Fat lot of good they are," he observed laconically.

"Our tax money at work," Ianto noted, separating from the rest of the team to walk towards them.

"Evening gentlemen," he greeted jovially, "can I interest you in a decent cup of coffee?"

The rest of the team smiled, almost fondly, at Ianto's opening statement. His urbane politeness in the face of torrential rain, ankle deep mud and a rapidly rising gale was something of a miracle to behold. They paused to watch for a moment as Ianto led them a safe distance from the fire so the fireman could strip the helmets from their suits and distributed the coffees with all the panache of a maitre d' at a Michelin star restaurant, and as they turned to regard the fire they had been called out to, they could hear the rise and fall of his soft vowels spinning a tale about a group of local youths who had gone too far with a game of truth or dare and scarpered when they had heard Mrs Evans and her dog.

Tosh and Owen stared at the fire before them with matching expressions of bemused perplexity. There was something distinctly wrong with a fire that failed to generate any heat as it burned, especially when the flames had grown to stand taller than Jack. Also despite the plumes of smoke that billowed from the flames there was no tell tale acrid smell of smoke in the clearing. To Tosh, the colour of the flames was almost incidental, that was something that could be explained away with the rationality of science; everything else was more of a conundrum.

Fascinated, Tosh took a step forwards, her eyes fixed on the readout from her PDA, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. Owen couldn't resist stealing a glance at her. He would never admit the depths of his feelings for the computer technician, there was too much chance that both of them would end up hurt, and for the most part he enjoyed his single life. But then again, a quick look never hurt anyone, and he loved the expression on her face when she was deep in thought.

At the other side of Owen, Jack moved with greater confidence than either of his colleagues towards the flames. He held one hand out in front of him, as though he was expecting the fire to warm the tips of his fingers. Soon he stood a mere six inches from the flames, his two colleagues both stopped to watch his actions, their faces showing mirroring expressions of consternation.

"Jack..." Owen's quiet cautionary voice across the clearing was enough for Ianto's attention to be diverted from the firemen currently climbing into their wagons, his blue eyes watching Jack worriedly. Absentmindedly he gestured towards the road away from the woods to the driver, and took a step towards the rest of his colleagues.

Jack was unaware of the nervous, focussed attention, the team were giving him. He didn't see Ianto speed up his progress towards him, or Owen reflexively reach out, even though he was too far away to possibly touch his Captain, or even Tosh lift a hand to her mouth in horror.

He did however hear their horrified cries as he took a deep breath and stepped into the flames.

_And now for the guessing game. Another piece of dialogue this time. Who is saying this and who are they speaking to:_

"_**Give us the Reader's Digest version now and the Director's Cut back at the Hub" **_

_Answers on a postcard please, or via review – it'll make me smile!_


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Winner: __ No correct guesses for this one, but it was Owen talking to Jack._

_Author's Note:__ Thank you for the continuing interest in this story – it still continues to grow on my computer and I appreciate all the feedback and reviews, follows and whatnot!_

Chapter Four

"Jack!"

Ianto's horrified call was immediately overridden by the more strident shouts of both Owen and Tosh. Drawn away from the sleeping woman she was with, Gwen hurried to the commotion, glancing worriedly around for the familiar sight of a long blue coat.

"Where is he?" she yelled, at no one in particular, wondering what could possibly have happened in the few minutes that she had been apart from the team. No one answered her: Tosh was fixated with her scanner frantically tapping with furrowed eyebrows and tears in her eyes, Owen was cursing fluidly and without interruption and Ianto was walking with sure footsteps, towards the flames that licked around the trees a strangely focused look in his eyes.

Cursing as she assessed the situation, Gwen ran towards him, wondering wildly about the possibilities of mind control.

"Ianto," she spoke calmly, but forcefully, the way she had been trained to negotiate with irrational people in the police, "I need you to stop there for me."

Ianto's gaze didn't waver from the fire, and irrationally his lips quirked into a smile.

"Its alright Gwen," he murmured, "Jack's right there."

Gwen closed the gap to his side and forcibly restrained him, her fury written all over her face.

"Ianto, are you insane?"

"No," a familiar accent rang out from the depths of the flames, humour evident in the accented tones, "he's the only one of you that's managed to notice that I'm standing," Jack reappeared from within the flames, standing before Ianto to a chorus of relieved sighs, "right here."

He grinned at Ianto, and clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing for just a moment longer than he would were it any of the others stood before him.

"Jesus Jack," Owen punched him in the arm, "you scared the hell out of me! What the fuck is causing that?"

Jack grinned his trademark, devil-may-care, grin and passed his hand nonchalantly through the flames, his smile only widening as he saw Tosh attempt to suppress a shudder. The team gathered curiously around him, eagerly awaiting information which would explain the situation.

Jack was silent for a long moment, clearly enjoying the suspense, until Owen piped up again, irritation clear in his voice.

"Jack, in case you hadn't noticed it is pissing it down out here" he gestured irritably at the rain, "Give us the Reader's Digest version now and the Director's Cut back at the Hub."

"Ok, Ok," Jack agreed as he saw the frustration in his team's eyes fading to misery in the face of pouring rain, "Long story short. The fire is a hologram, a defence mechanism to avoid people finding the escape pod."

Owen and Ianto exchanged confused glances, as did Gwen and Tosh.

"Um," Tosh frowned prettily, "what escape pod, Jack?"

He laughed and grabbed Ianto's forearm, pulling him forcefully into the centre of the blaze. The Welshman had no choice but to comply, with a slightly startled yelp. Gwen and Owen followed more cautiously, with Tosh entering the flames last, intently scanning every step of the way.

"This escape pod," Jack announced, somewhat unnecessarily.

It looked, in all honesty, like an overgrown, silver, paracetamol capsule, Owen thought to himself in disbelief. It was just over a metre in length, and perhaps 2 feet in diameter with a circumferential groove halfway down its length. He pointed out the similarity in a hushed voice to Tosh and Ianto. The Japanese woman couldn't help but nod her agreement while Ianto merely rolled his eyes in a somewhat theatrical manner.

"What's inside it?" Gwen couldn't help but wonder aloud.

Jack shrugged, his expression now as perplexed as the rest of them.

"No idea," he admitted, "I've seen similar designs but nothing exactly the same as this one. I assume it came through the Rift," Tosh nodded in confirmation, "I think we'd best get it back to the Hub and out of the rain before we start investigating though."

They all nodded with obvious relief. Jack tossed the SUV keys to a mildly surprised Gwen, she hadn't been entrusted with the keys in a while.

"Gwen, bring the SUV as close as you can," he ordered, "Tosh, get any final readings you need and ask PC Davidson to take the witness home, Ianto, Owen we'll do the heavy lifting."

Everyone nodded their assent and the girls hurried off to their allocated tasks leaving the three men staring down at the capsule apprehensively.

"Looks heavy," observed Ianto.

"And slippy," Owen added with a morose sigh.

"And wet," the Welshman rejoined with a smirk.

"And cold!" Owen wasn't going to be outdone.

"You two are not helping!" Jack snapped before they could carry on any more. He knew all too well from past experience that if you left them in the middle of an exchange like this one, neither would back down and before you knew it half the night had gone by.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Owen asked, staring irritably at the capsule.

Ianto lightly ran his hands over the surface of the capsule, then slipped his hands underneath it to check the weight. Gingerly he attempted to lift it, wincing as the cool metal slipped through his fingertips and the capsule crashed back to the floor with a resounding clang. With a resigned sigh Ianto stripped out of his raincoat, glowering as he did so at the sky, and bent to wrap the material around the metal pod in order to give them better purchase on the object. Owen was secretly relieved that he remained bundled in his coat, and resolved that next time it was cold out he would do the breakfast run, just as long as Ianto didn't think he was making a habit of it.

As Gwen manoeuvred the SUV as close as she could and the dazzling headlights lit up the clearing the three men bent to pick up the heavy object. Groaning, they stumbled over to the black vehicle, their path lit by the strobing blue lights than ran down each side of the windscreen. Weirdly the violet flames moved with them, a fact that was somewhat disconcerting to Owen.

"Can you stop it doing that?" he yelled to Tosh as she returned from speaking to Andy Davidson, who had been extremely grateful to be able to get back into his car and out of the rain.

She looked at it intently for a moment, then at the device in her hand, and finally at Jack.

"I can try to knock it out with an EM pulse?" she suggested hesistantly, "like with Beth?"

Jack nodded slowly.

"Do it," he decided, "people recognise our vehicle as it is, without purple flames coming out of it."

"Well," pointed out Owen with a sly grin, "if people put Torchwood on the side of the car..." he trailed off.

"Alright Owen," he sighed, as Tosh activated her scanner and the flames faded away, "you are not the only one who can be an idiot," he finally admitted, referring to Owen's tendency to order pizza to the underground base.

With a grunt, Ianto shoved the capsule into the boot and firmly slammed the door shut, before jumping into the passenger seat and firing up the heating with a happy little sigh. Gwen vacated the driver's seat at Jack's nod and piled into the back of the vehicle with Tosh and Owen. Expertly, Jack swung the SUV around and began the short drive back to the hub, firing up the windscreen wipers to their fastest setting.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, Tosh hesitantly spoke up, with a worried look in her eyes.

"Uh, guys. We have a problem, "she announced quietly.

"Typical." Owen muttered, earning an elbow in the ribs from Gwen.

"What is it love?" she asked more kindly, as she continued to scowl at Owen.

"Well," Tosh began, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Jack met her gaze sombrely in the rear view mirror, his eyes dark with concern.

"Lets have the bad news first, shall we?" he asked, bracing himself for whatever his brilliant computer technician had to say.

Tosh took a deep breath, and looked up meeting the expectant gazes of the rest of the team.

"The escape pod in the boot?" she gestured at it, "It's radioactive. And we've all been exposed."

_This week's bit of dialogue for guessing:_

"_**They do say you should never stick knives in toasters"**_

_Coming up next chapter... a shower scene!_


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Winner: __ No correct guesses for this one, but it was Tosh talking._

_Author's Note:__ Thank you for the continuing interest in this story – I'm about to upload two chapters so there won't be a guessing game. This is as far as this story has got at the moment but I am looking forward to writing more when I get back from my honeymoon! Have a good summer!_

Chapter Five

The team looked at each other in horror, Jack's hands tightening reflexively on the steering wheel.

"We've all been exposed to radiation? Well that's fucking brilliant." That was Owen of course.

"What do we do?" demanded Gwen, frantically.

Ianto was calmer.

"Will it be absorbed by the radiation sponges?" he asked, mentally running through the archives so that as soon as they returned he could put his hands on them efficiently.

Tosh ignored the others and turned to look at the young Welshman in the front seat.

"That's the good news. It should be absorbed totally by those."

Ianto nodded, turning to Jack.

"We've plenty stored in the archives, good job we managed to salvage that box of them last month."

The Captain nodded once, decisively and turned to face the team sat behind him, causing Ianto to nervously reach towards the steering wheel. The wheels of the vehicle swerved and Jack abruptly returned his attention to the road before him.

"Ok, here's the plan," he ordered as he squinted out of the windscreen through the rain, "Soon as we get back, Ianto get the sponges, the rest of you straight to the showers. We'll decontaminate, then Owen and Ianto we'll get some of the radiation suits and put the pod in one of the spare storage rooms on the lower levels. Then Tosh, you can figure out how to open it."

"Ok," they all replied. Gwen looked slightly put out that she hadn't been assigned a task, but realised that at this point there was nothing that required her particular talents. She leaned forward to tap Ianto on the shoulder; he immediately turned to face her with a small smile.

"Have we seen anything like this before Ianto?" she asked curiously, "Anything in the archives?"

He paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought. Then pulled out a pen and paper from his pockets and wrote down four codes in his clear handwriting.

"These are the files that I think might be relevant, off the top of my head. If you can dig these out to start with I can start a proper search from the catalogue on my terminal when we get back."

"You remembered those file numbers, and what was in them off the top of your head?" Owen exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes," replied Ianto, clearly unable to see why the medic was making a fuss. Owen stared out of the window, his surprise clearly etched across his face.

"You're fucking mental Jones," he swore softly, almost in admiration, missing the younger man's answering smirk.

Gwen's phone bleeped , and she opened the new text message expecting to see a message from Rhys. Bizarrely though, the sender was marked as Ianto Jones. It read simply,

THOSE ARE COMPLETELY RANDOM. WILL SORT REAL FILES AT HUB. LIKE TO MAKE HARPER FEEL INADEQUATE.

Trying not laugh, Gwen nodded once, and returned the phone to her pocket.

Typically, by the time they had returned to the Hub the rain had slowed to a feeble drizzle, all that remained of the previous downpour was huge puddles scattered across the Plass. The team hurried in, stripping off wet clothes as they went and leaving them draped over their chairs. Ianto paused briefly at his workstation to initiate a keyword search of the archives before detouring to the medical supplies storeroom to collect some radiation sponges, while the rest of the team headed directly to the communal decontamination showers.

The showers, while communal, had a dividing wall at shoulder height which separated the males and females. Ianto was last to enter, slipping in with his eyes lowered. He wouldn't have minded looking at Jack, obviously, but he thought Owen would not appreciate his gaze.

Owen Harper, secretly quite liked the decontamination showers, not that he would ever admit that to anyone: especially since it wasn't even because of the nakedness – which would have been almost an acceptable excuse. Actually though, Owen just enjoyed the camaraderie and banter that the team were so much more likely to share here, than at any other time. These little moments, snatched amongst their long and tiring days, were a little oasis of good humour that bound the team together as an, admittedly somewhat dysfunctional, family.

Ianto tossed the sponges to each of the team, and they all began scrubbing, each politely turning to face the wall. Gwen sighed, as she rubbed the sponge over her arms, turning her back slightly to allow Tosh to reach the hard to reach spot between her shoulder blades.

"What's the weirdest thing that you've seen an alien do?" she asked the room at large.

"Snog Tosh!" Owen shouted immediately, with an evil grin.

"Harsh Owen," Ianto pointed out, "Especially since I recall the office Christmas Party, some mistletoe and the two of you on the Plass."

Tosh blushed crimson at the memory.

"That wasn't a snog!" Owen protested, "That was a Christmas kiss."

"Not according to the CCTV," Ianto pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Ianto you pervert!" Owen admonished, "But I retract my previous comment. It actually wasn't a bad snog. So I guess the alien had a point."

Gwen thought that if Tosh went any redder she would be able to glow in the dark.

"How about you Ianto?" she moved the attention from the technician which earned her a mouthed 'thank you' from the petite Japanese woman.

"Hmmm," Ianto thought for a long moment, "There was this thing at Torchwood One – like a big plant - but it blew bubbles when it released oxygen. That was quite strange. Then it turned out that the liquid that it was blowing the bubbles with made you come out in a terrible rash." He winced at the memory. "Really itchy. Got Yvonne Hartmann though, gave us all a good giggle."

"Tosh?"

"There was this one robot with the chameleon circuit that would only let it turn into kitchen implements, that was a bit odd." She mused, "Toaster was useful though."

"It wasn't you it electrocuted though, was it Tosh?" Owen dryly pointed out.

"They do say you should never stick knives in toasters though Owen."

"It was unplugged! How was I supposed to know?"

Gwen grinned at Owen's defensiveness, and turned her head slightly to shout towards Jack.

"How about you Boss?"

Jack paused for a moment, a slightly evil gleam lighting his eyes.

"Well there was this one alien with eight tentacles and two mouths..."

Ianto broke in with an exasperated roll of his eyes.

"I am standing right here Jack." He pointed out, earning a giggle from the girls at the other side of the showers. Although she couldn't see his face, Tosh could picture the put-out expression he no doubt currently wore.

Jack's face on the other hand was a picture of innocence, he spread his hands in a gesture of confusion and caught Ianto's eye to give him a reassuring smile.

"Is that all you think I think about?" he asked, with the 'little boy lost' tone of voice he used to demonstrate his innocence.

"Yes," they all replied immediately and without hesitation.

"I was going to say," Jack paused for a minute, "No. I don't think I want to tell you now."

"Ok," Owen answered, with supreme indifference. Everyone else returned to their showers without another word. The easiest way to wind up Captain Harkness was to pretend you had absolutely no interest in the tales of his escapades. Sure enough, after ten seconds of silence, he continued.

"Ok," he sighed, as though they had been begging and clamouring for the rest of the story, "I'll tell you."

Ianto smiled softly at him, from beneath long eyelashes, almost a coy smile, filled with the promise of what was to come once the latest crisis had been dealt with.

"She was a one man band," Jack tried to stop staring at Ianto and resolutely turned to the wall, "she played all the different instruments herself. It was... very impressive."

The team looked suitably impressed themselves. Jack grinned, it was always nice to remind them occasionally that not everything in the universe was out to kill them. It just would be nice if some of those more interesting things visited Cardiff once in a while.

Owen tossed his sponge to Ianto, who obligingly rubbed at his back as Jack did the same for him.

"How come the fire from that pod tonight was purple?" the medic asked Jack curiously, trying not to reveal that he was enjoying having his back scrubbed, especially since he was wishing it was Tosh doing the scrubbing, "why wasn't it a more... realistic colour?"

Jack ran his sponge teasingly towards Ianto's waist as he answered, eliciting a small shudder from the Welshman.

"Well, universally speaking, mauve is the recognised colour for danger," he told them, laughing along with their hoots of surprised laughter.

"Mauve?" Gwen repeated in disbelief, "Isn't that a bit... well... camp?"

"Most of the universe feel that way about red," he explained, "Its only really this planet that doesn't. Causes all sorts of confusion."

"I can imagine," Tosh commented, reaching out for a couple of towels, passing one to Gwen.

"But that's ridiculous!" Owen practically yelled, switching off the water jets, "I mean, just think of Ianto's shirts."

As they all met in the communal changing area they stared in surprise at Owen.

"Girls, you'll back me up wont you?" he asked beseechingly, "That red shirt he wears, I imagine you all think he looks very double-oh-seven suave in it. Very "licensed to kill". In fact I know you do, because I heard Gwen and Tosh discussing it the other day."

The girls looked at each other, faintly embarrassed, as Ianto raised an eyebrow at them questioningly.

"It's a very nice shirt," Gwen muttered.

"Thank you," Ianto smiled at the pair, his smile widening as they visibly relaxed.

Owen struggled to get his analogy back on track, wishing that he'd never opened his mouth.

"Now on the other hand, consider last week's lilac shirt," they all paused to consider the garment in question, "Now I'm sure it's a very nice shirt. I imagine Jack thinks it brings out your eyes or somesuch nonsense. But it doesn't have the same "secret agent" deadliness to it, does it?"

The girls and Jack found themselves nodding in agreement, while Ianto merely looked between them, bemused.

"Owen, surely all this proves is that red is my colour? And that you should leave Torchwood to make 'What Shirt to Wear' for the BBC." He deadpanned, earning a towel flick from the doctor.

"I think Owen has a point," Jack conceded, "You need more red shirts. I do like those."

"Jack that was not my point!"

"But red _is_ a very sexy colour on Ianto."

"Enough!" Gwen exclaimed, heading quickly towards her locker before Jack could engage in any more flirting. Tosh and Owen quickly followed suit, sensing what was coming. Before Ianto could follow he found himself pinned to the changing room wall by Jack's strong arms.

"I do love those red shirts," he growled, pupils dilated with lust, so that only tiny rims of the crystal blue irises remained.

"Why do you think I wear them, _sir_?" Ianto replied breathlessly, somewhat overcome by the sudden strength of Jack's overpowering 51st Century pheromones. Slowly, deliberately, he leant forward, never breaking gaze with Jack, to capture his lips in a soft kiss that Jack couldn't help but urgently deepen.

"Put him down Teaboy," Owen's dry comment broke the two men apart entirely too soon, "You've no idea where he's been, and there's work to do."

With a frustrated sigh, Ianto followed the medic out of the room, only jumping slightly as Jack pinched his bottom as he passed.


	7. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer:__ As chapter One._

_Author's Note:__ Thank you for the continuing interest in this story – I'm about to upload two chapters so there won't be a guessing game. This is as far as this story has got at the moment but I am looking forward to writing more when I get back from my honeymoon so if you have any prompts/suggestions/requests then now is a good time to make them! Have a good summer!_

Chapter Six

Two hours later the team had settled into their familiar work routines, fuelled by copious amounts of Ianto's coffee to get them through the crash in energy they had all suffered once they were back in the warmth of the Hub. Tosh was diligently reviewing the scans she had taken from the crash site to attempt to find a way to open the pod. Ianto was reviewing files from the depths of the archives, trying to discover if Torchwood had seen anything similar in the past. Gwen was hacking into the Police system to ensure their cover story had been accepted having spent half an hour in hushed conversation with a tired, irritated Andy. Jack and Owen in the meantime had donned radiation suits and with much grumbling and moaning manhandled the stricken escape pod into the Hub via the invisible lift and then down into one of the vacant lower level storage rooms. Now as the first tentative rays of sunlight made their way over the horizon Owen lay dozing on the couch, an empty coffee mug dangling from loose fingers.

"How's it going Tosh?" Jack kept his voice considerately lowered, smiling gently as the technician looked at him with bleary eyes.

"Almost there, I think." A smile lit her face, "Just need this calibration to finish on the scanner, then I should be able to use it to replicate an activation signal."

Jack nodded, how she managed to charm solutions out of these machines remained something of a miracle to him. Her mind made quicksilver links between all the components and their possible functions and her instincts seemed to unswervingly lead her to the correct answer. Not for the first time Jack thanked his lucky stars that he had arranged her release from the UNIT jail.

"Brilliant Tosh," he praised her, loving the delicate pink flush of embarrassment that darkened her cheeks, "Keep going with that calibration, let me know as soon as you are ready to give it a go."

Tosh nodded absentmindedly, her fingers flying over the keyboard so fast that they were practically a blur. With a brief shoulder squeeze Jack left her to her work and crossed the floor of the Hub to stand alongside Gwen, who stretched before turning towards him with a big smile.

"All contained," she reported cheerfully, "Andy moaned, nothing new there. Was very vague about his wedding invite as well but never mind. Fancy a cuppa?"

Jack nodded gratefully.

"Thanks Gwen, Tosh has nearly figured out how to get the capsule open, so grab a break now while there's chance."

She nodded and disappeared into the kitchenette for a moment, returning with four mugs of the previously brewed coffee Ianto had left warming. Smiling she passed two to Jack,

"Ianto's in the archives," she told him, "why don't you take him a coffee?"

Trying to ignore her knowing expression Jack took the two mugs and made his way along the darkened corridor that led to Ianto's domain. By the main door a small note, scrawled in handwriting that looked suspiciously like Tosh's proclaimed "_Here be Dragons" _and each time he passed it he thought of that weekend Tosh and Ianto had spent painting the Hub wall with the help of a few bottles of beer: a big rift spike had been predicted – which of course never arrived – but still it had been a good weekend.

He paused in the doorway of the room that housed Ianto's desk, watching him at work for a moment. He was completely surrounded by files, and Jack knew he was sorting out relevant information for the briefing that would no doubt occur later this morning. He looked tired with dark circles ringing his eyes, Jack noticed and the part of his heart that belonged to Ianto yearned to send him to bed; unfortunately, the part of his mind that ran Torchwood needed him here working.

Although Jack swore he had remained completely silent, something had tipped Ianto off to his arrival and he sat back in his seat to return the Captain's steady gaze.

"Is that for me?" he asked, gesturing to the mug in Jack's hands, hopefully.

Jack smiled as he crossed the room to relinquish the cup, and perched on the edge of Ianto's desk, mirroring the deep gulp of coffee Ianto took with one of his own.

"Found anything useful?"

Ianto pulled a small pile of papers towards himself, and glanced through them.

"There has been a few of these over the past century, I suppose it's not too surprising – there's a Rift Storm so people bail out of their ships and get sucked in. However, they must have been some kind of mass produced escape pod, there's nothing really linking the pod inhabitants." He showed Jack a series of photos proving his point. Jack nodded in agreement.

"That would make sense; there are some huge planet-wide shipyards out there. They'll sell to huge numbers of planets."

"Like Ford, only in space." Ianto commented.

"One of them is," Jack confessed with a grin, "Anyway, Tosh thinks she's almost got opening the pod cracked, so we'll just have to wait to hear..."

His Bluetooth headset crackled into life, as if on cue.

"Jack?" Tosh's voice was clear in his ear, "I think I've done it."

"Excellent work Tosh, Ianto and I will be there in a moment."

With a sigh at the thought of having to wear a Hazmat suit, and another drag of coffee, Ianto rose from his seat, gathering up files he thought could be useful and followed Jack back into the main Hub.

They stood clustered around the silver capsule, uncomfortably ensconced inside bright white Hazmat suits, their filtered breaths harsh in the silence. Owen was peeved at being woken up – unsurprisingly – but they were all showing signs of fatigue, except Jack of course, nothing really seemed to dim his enthusiasm, especially something so mundane as fatigue. Ianto tried to stifle a yawn, but was stopped short by the clear plastic of his helmet, and smiled ruefully to himself at his momentary confusion. Gwen caught his expression and grinned at him, the expression lighting up her dark eyes and temporarily lifted the shadows that hung beneath them. Owen lounged lacksidasically against the wall, a stance that pushed the helmet of his suit forward and made him look bent in the middle and slightly ridiculous. All of them however had their attention firmly fixed on Toshiko.

She crouched next to the capsule, connecting wires from it to her hand held terminal with quiet determination. Ianto had the distinct impression that if all the Hub alarms were to go off at once Tosh would have no idea that it had happened. He admired her stoic resolution to get the job done, no matter what it was, and found himself smiling down at her with affection. She caught his eye and grinned back, obviously in her element.

"It's all wired up," she told them, glossing over the technical details. Ianto was the only member of the team that would appreciate the complexity of the work she had done, and she could quietly have a quick boast to him over a cup of coffee later, "All I need to do is..."

Her nimble fingers keyed in a command, then she turned to regard Jack with serious dark eyes. At his nod she hit the enter key with a little flourish and gazed expectantly at the metal shell before her.

With an almost ominous high pitched squeal, the capsule began to slowly open, cracking in half at the central groove which ran around it. Involuntarily they all took a small step forward, to better see the contents within, gasping as their gaze was met by a pair of unblinking black orbs which stared fixedly ahead.

"Is it _alive?_" Gwen whispered, her voice carrying easily in the stunned silence.

As if to answer her, the creature lifted long, slim fingers, _six of them,_ Ianto noted, and curled them slowly around the rim of the now fully opened capsule.


End file.
